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Family Finds Peace and Comfort at the Rose Monahan Hospice Home

From the moment Joan Malanson and her family arrived at the Rose Monahan Hospice Home, they felt wrapped in compassion. Every member of the hospice team focused on bringing comfort and peace during their final days together.

Just months earlier, life had felt steady and full. Although Joan had some mobility challenges, she was thriving after moving to an assisted living facility. Always social, she eagerly joined excursions to local restaurants, played Bingo, and took part in the many activities offered. She embraced being part of a community.

Then her health changed suddenly.

During a second hospitalization for cellulitis, doctors diagnosed Joan with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer. The treatments took a toll from which she never recovered.

“The cancer took over. She was so weak. She couldn’t walk during the last two months. Everything just became so difficult,” said Patricia Malanson, one of Joan’s three children.

Joan (pictured) stopped treatment to focus on comfort. She and her family turned to VNA Care’s hospice program for care and support. 

The hospice team provides care wherever a person calls home, and includes skilled nurses, physicians and nurse practitioners, social workers, spiritual and bereavement counselors, hospice aides, and trained volunteers.

Together, they focus on expert pain and symptom management while also providing emotional, spiritual, and practical support for patients and loved ones — improving quality of life during the end-of-life journey.

While VNA Care’s hospice team worked closely with assisted living staff and Joan’s family to keep her safe and comfortable, concerns grew about her ability to remain in her apartment. Joan’s hospice nurse introduced the family to VNA Care’s Rose Monahan Hospice Home. 

The 10-bed residence opened nearly 30 years ago as a homelike place where terminally ill patients receive end-of-life care when remaining at home is no longer possible or optimal. Since then, it has become a beloved and vital community resource for families facing life’s most difficult moments.

The family made the decision to move Joan to the Rose Monahan Hospice Home.

“From the moment we brought my mother to the Monahan Home, it was amazing,” said Patricia. “The nurses were so compassionate towards her, and made sure she had everything she needed or wanted without even a question. They were also very caring towards us.”

Joan’s first week at the residence was filled with visits from her children, grandchildren, and greatgrandchildren. Longtime friends, old neighbors, and former coworkers from her many years working at the Worcester Public Schools’s Durkin Administration Building came to say goodbye. Surrounded by love, Joan had the opportunity to share meaningful moments with those closest to her.

After those visits, Patricia could see that her mother was at peace. Joan became unresponsive the next day.

Throughout this time, the Rose Monahan Hospice Home nurses kept Patricia informed about changes in her mother’s condition and remained available to answer any questions and offer reassurance. Patricia took comfort in knowing that everything possible was being done to ensure her mother was comfortable and pain-free.

Joan passed away peacefully at the Rose Monahan Hospice Home on Nov. 27, 2025, at age 86.

The care and compassion shown to Joan and her family made an enormous impact. In gratitude, they made a charitable gift in support of the Rose Monahan Hospice Home and invited others to honor Joan’s memory with donations.

Philanthropic support ensures the future of the first and only hospice residence for the terminally ill in Central Massachusetts. Donations sustain exceptional end-of-life care that promotes dignity and quality of life, while also maintaining the homelike atmosphere of the residence and the beauty of its grounds.

“We wanted to give back as much as we could,” said Patricia. “The care the Monahan staff provided for my mother and the compassion they showed us was incredible. I want everyone going through what we did to receive that same kind of care.”